Determining Items to Pick in a Storage Facility

1. A computer-implemented method to identify an item in a storage facility to fulfill a pick request, the method comprising: receiving, by a computing system, a request for a physical item of a particular type; identifying, by the computing system, a set of available physical items of the particular type from among a plurality of physical items stored in a plurality of storage locations in the storage facility; determining, by the computing system, a score for each respective available physical item of the particular type from the set of available physical items of the particular type based on multiple sub-scores specific to the respective available physical item of the particular type, to generate a set of scores corresponding to the set of available physical items of the particular type; selecting, by the computing system, a selected physical item from among the set of available physical items of the particular type based on the selected physical item having a most favorable score from among the set of scores corresponding to the set of available physical items of the particular type; identifying, by the computing system, a selected storage location at which the selected physical item is located; and providing, by the computing system, instructions to cause a mechanical moving system to route the selected physical item from the selected storage location to a destination picking location.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing system for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a sizing sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying, by the computing system, a size of the respective available physical item; identifying, by the computing system, a size of a storage location of the respective available physical item; determining, by the computing system, an amount that the size of the storage location of the respective available physical item is larger than the size of the respective available physical item; and assigning, by the computing system, the sizing sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the amount that the size of the storage location of the respective available physical item is larger than the size of the respective available physical item, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable sizing sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the amount that the size of the storage location of the respective available physical item is larger than the size of the respective available physical item exceeds a particular value than when, (ii) the amount that the size of the storage location of the respective available physical item is larger than the size of the respective available physical item is less than or equal to the particular value, wherein the size of the respective available physical item falls within a range from a minimum size of the storage location of the respective available physical location to a maximum size of the respective available physical storage location.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, by the computing system, a weight sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying, by the computing system, a weight of the respective available physical item; identifying, by the computing system, a maximum weight capacity of a storage location of the respective available physical item; identifying, by the computing system, an aggregate weight of items currently stored at the storage location; determining, by the computing system, a remaining weight capacity of the storage location based on a difference between the maximum weight capacity and the aggregate weight of the items currently stored at the storage location; determining, by the computing system, an amount that the remaining weight capacity of the storage location exceeds the weight of the respective available physical item; and assigning, by the computing system, the weight sub-score based on the amount that the remaining weight capacity of the storage location exceeds the weight of the respective available physical item.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 3, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable weight sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the amount that the remaining weight capacity of the storage location exceeds the weight of the respective available physical item is greater than a particular value than when (ii) the amount that the remaining weight capacity of the storage location exceeds the weight of the respective available physical item is less than or equal to the particular value.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing system for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a maximum weight sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying, by the computing system, a weight of the respective available physical item; identifying, by the computing system, a maximum weight capacity of a storage location of the respective available physical item; identifying, by the computing system, a maximum number of items that can be stored at the storage location of the respective available physical item; determining, by the computing system, a maximum weight per item based on dividing the maximum weight capacity of the storage location by the maximum number of items that can be stored at the storage location; and assigning, by the computing system, the maximum weight sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the weight of the respective available physical item exceeding the maximum weight per item that can be stored at the storage location, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable maximum weight sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the weight of the respective available physical item exceeds the maximum weight per item than when, (ii) the weight of the respective available physical item is less than or equal to the maximum weight per item.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing system for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a travel time sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: determining, by the computing system, a first projected travel time between a storage location of the respective available physical item and the destination picking location; determining, by the computing system, a second projected travel time between another storage location of another available physical item and the destination picking location; and assigning, by the computing system, the travel time sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the first projected travel time being less than the second projected travel time, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable travel time sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the first projected travel time is less than the second projected travel time than when, (ii) the first projected travel time is greater than the second projected travel time.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein assigning the travel time sub-score to the respective available physical item is based on (i) a wait time for storage items in a queue, (ii) a wait time for storage items at one or more lift mechanisms, (iii) a travel time for storage items in one or more lift mechanisms, (iv) a travel time for storage items through one or more mechanical moving systems, (v) an amount of traffic of storage items in the storage facility, (vi) an amount of time needed to pick the respective available physical item before routing the available physical item to the destination picking location, or (vii) an actual distance between the storage location of the respective available physical item and the destination picking location.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing system for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a picking velocity sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying, by the computing system, multiple items currently stored in a storage location of the respective available physical item; determining, by the computing system, a statistical likelihood that each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location is likely to be picked in the future; determining, by the computing system, positions for each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location, wherein the storage location has a plurality of positions, wherein each of the plurality of positions is assigned a numeric value, wherein a smaller numeric value corresponds to a position closer to a front of the storage location and a larger numeric value corresponds to a position closer to a back of the storage location; determining, by the computing system, a picking rate of the respective available physical item; determining, by the computing system, a position of the respective available physical item in the storage location relative to each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location; and assigning, by the computing system, the picking velocity sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the picking rate and the position of the respective available physical item, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable picking velocity sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the picking rate of the respective available physical item exceeds the statistical likelihood that each of the multiple items currently stored at the storage location is likely to be picked in the future and (ii) the position of the respective available physical item is less than the positions for each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location than when, (iii) the picking rate of the respective available physical item exceeds the statistical likelihood that each of the multiple items currently stored at the storage location is likely to be picked in the future and (iv) the position of the respective available physical item is greater than the positions for each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing system for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, an item depth sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying, by the computing system, a total quantity of items currently stored in a storage location of the respective available physical item; determining, by the computing system, a quantity of the total quantity of items currently stored in the storage location in a queue in front of the respective available physical item; and assigning, by the computing system, the item depth sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the quantity of items in the queue in front of the respective available physical item, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable item depth sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the quantity of the items in the queue in front of the respective available physical item is less than a particular value than when, (ii) the quantity of the items in the queue in front of the respective available physical items is greater than the particular value.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing system for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a type sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: determining, by the computing system, a quantity of storage items having a same particular type as the respective available physical item that are stored at a storage location of the respective available physical item; and assigning, by the computing system, the type sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the particular type of the respective available physical item, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable type sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the quantity of the storage items having the same particular type as the respective available physical item is less than a particular value than when, (ii) the quantity of the storage items having the same particular type as the respective available physical item is greater than or equal to the particular value.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein identifying storage items having the same particular type as the respective available physical item comprises identifying storage items having at least one of a same perishable date, storage temperature, SKU, customer identifier, product, outbound date, and delivery date as the available physical item.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing system for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a fill capacity sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: determining, by the computing system, a quantity of storage items currently stored at a storage location of the respective available physical item; determining, by the computing system, a total number of storage items that can be stored at the storage location of the respective available physical item; determining, by the computing system, an amount of fill capacity for the storage location based on comparing the quantity of storage items currently stored to the total number of storage items that can be stored at the storage location; and assigning, by the computing system, the fill capacity sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the amount of fill capacity, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable fill capacity sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the amount of fill capacity is less than a particular value than when, (ii) the amount of fill capacity is greater than or equal to the particular value, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a most favorable fill capacity sub-score to the respective available physical item when the amount of fill capacity is 0 and assign a least favorable fill capacity sub-score to the respective available physical item when the amount of fill capacity is 100.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising: determining, by the computing system, a quantity of storage items having a same particular type as the respective available physical item that are stored at a storage location of the respective available physical item; and assigning a more favorable fill capacity sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the quantity of the storage items having the same particular type as the respective available physical item is less than a first particular value and (ii) the amount of fill capacity is greater than or equal to a second particular value than when, (iii) the quantity of the storage items having the same particular type as the respective available physical item is greater than the first particular value and (iv) the amount of fill capacity is less than the second particular value.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising: identifying, by the computing system, storage items having a different type than the particular type of the respective available physical item that are currently stored at the storage location; determining, by the computing system and for each of the different types, a quantity of the storage items of each different type; and assigning a more favorable fill capacity sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) a first quantity of the storage items of a first different type is less than a second quantity of the storage items of a second different type and (ii) the amount of fill capacity is greater than or equal to a particular value than when, (iii) the first quantity of the storage items of the first different type is greater than the second quantity of the storage items of the second different type and (iv) the amount of fill capacity is less than the particular value.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing system for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a task quantity sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying, by the computing system, a room where a storage location of the respective available physical item is located; receiving, by the computing system, information about inbound and outbound tasks for a group of one or more lift mechanisms that service a group of storage locations in the identified room that includes the storage location of the respective available physical item; determining, by the computing system and based on the information about the inbound and outbound tasks for the group of the one or more lift mechanisms, a quantity of tasks queued for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room; and assigning, by the computing system, the task quantity sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the quantity of tasks queued for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable task quantity sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the quantity of tasks queued for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room is less than a particular value than when, (ii) the quantity of tasks queued for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room is greater than the particular value.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein determining the quantity of tasks queued for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room comprises weighting a quantity of outbound tasks more heavily than a quantity of inbound tasks for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing system for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, an aisle task sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying, by the computing system, a room where a storage location of the respective available physical item is located; selecting, by the computing system, an aisle in the room that is used to access the storage location of the available physical item, wherein the room includes a plurality of aisles corresponding to a plurality of levels in the room, wherein each of the plurality of aisles has one or more different storage locations; receiving, by the computing system, information about inbound and outbound tasks for the selected aisle; determining, by the computing system and based on the information about the inbound and outbound tasks for the selected aisle, a quantity of tasks queued for the selected aisle; and assigning, by the computing system, the aisle task sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the quantity of tasks queued for the selected aisle, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable aisle task sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the quantity of tasks queued for the selected aisle is less than a particular value than when, (ii) the quantity of tasks queued for the selected aisle is greater than the particular value.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein assigning the aisle task sub-score to the respective available physical item is further based on (i) a number of storage items permitted in the selected aisle at a given time, (ii) sizes of storage items currently being moved in the selected aisle, (iii) weights of storage items currently being moved in the selected aisle, (iv) types of storage items currently being moved in the selected aisle, or (v) a projected traffic time in the selected aisle, wherein the projected traffic time is based at least in part on real-time traffic conditions received, by the computing system and from a plurality of sensors in the storage facility.

19. A system for identifying an item in a storage facility to fulfill a pick request, the system comprising: a plurality of physical items in the storage facility; a mechanical moving system configured to route the plurality of physical items to destination locations in the storage facility; and a computing system configured to: receive a request for a physical item of a particular type; identify a set of available physical items of the particular type from among the plurality of physical items stored in a plurality of storage locations in the storage facility; determine a score for each respective available physical item of the particular type from the set of available physical items of the particular type based on multiple sub-scores specific to the respective available physical item of the particular type, to generate a set of scores corresponding to the set of available physical items of the particular type; select a selected physical item from among the set of available physical items of the particular type based on the selected physical item having a most favorable score from among the set of scores corresponding to the set of available physical items of the particular type; identify a selected storage location at which the selected physical item is located; and provide instructions to cause the mechanical moving system to route the selected physical item from the selected storage location to a destination picking location.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the computing system is further configured to determine, for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a sizing sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying a size of the respective available physical item; identifying a size of a storage location of the respective available physical item; determining an amount that the size of the storage location of the respective available physical item is larger than the size of the respective available physical item; and assigning the sizing sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the amount that the size of the storage location of the respective available physical item is larger than the size of the respective available physical item, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable sizing sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the amount that the size of the storage location of the respective available physical item is larger than the size of the respective available physical item exceeds a particular value than when, (ii) the amount that the size of the storage location of the respective available physical item is larger than the size of the respective available physical item is less than or equal to the particular value, wherein the size of the respective available physical item falls within a range from a minimum size of the storage location of the respective available physical location to a maximum size of the respective available physical storage location.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the computing system is further configured to determine, for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a weight sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying a weight of the respective available physical item; identifying a maximum weight capacity of a storage location of the respective available physical item; identifying an aggregate weight of items currently stored at the storage location; determining a remaining weight capacity of the storage location based on a difference between the maximum weight capacity and the aggregate weight of the items currently stored at the storage location; determining an amount that the remaining weight capacity of the storage location exceeds the weight of the respective available physical item; and assigning the weight sub-score based on the amount that the remaining weight capacity of the storage location exceeds the weight of the respective available physical item.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the computing system is further configured to determine, for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a travel time sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: determining a first projected travel time between a storage location of the respective available physical item and the destination picking location; determining a second projected travel time between another storage location of another available physical item and the destination picking location; and assigning the travel time sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the first projected travel time being less than the second projected travel time, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable travel time sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the first projected travel time is less than the second projected travel time than when, (ii) the first projected travel time is greater than the second projected travel time.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the computing system is further configured to determine, for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a picking velocity sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying multiple items currently stored in a storage location of the respective available physical item; determining a statistical likelihood that each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location is likely to be picked in the future; determining positions for each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location, wherein the storage location has a plurality of positions, wherein each of the plurality of positions is assigned a numeric value, wherein a smaller numeric value corresponds to a position closer to a front of the storage location and a larger numeric value corresponds to a position closer to a back of the storage location; determining a picking rate of the respective available physical item;, determining a position of the respective available physical item in the storage location relative to each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location; and assigning the picking velocity sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the picking rate and the position of the respective available physical item, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable picking velocity sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the picking rate of the respective available physical item exceeds the statistical likelihood that each of the multiple items currently stored at the storage location is likely to be picked in the future and (ii) the position of the respective available physical item is less than the positions for each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location than when, (iii) the picking rate of the respective available physical item exceeds the statistical likelihood that each of the multiple items currently stored at the storage location is likely to be picked in the future and (iv) the position of the respective available physical item is greater than the positions for each of the multiple items currently stored in the storage location.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein the computing system is further configured to determine, for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, a task quantity sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying a room where a storage location of the respective available physical item is located; receiving information about inbound and outbound tasks for a group of one or more lift mechanisms that service a group of storage locations in the identified room that includes the storage location of the respective available physical item; determining, based on the information about the inbound and outbound tasks for the group of the one or more lift mechanisms, a quantity of tasks queued for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room; and assigning the task quantity sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the quantity of tasks queued for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable task quantity sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the quantity of tasks queued for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room is less than a particular value than when, (ii) the quantity of tasks queued for the one or more lift mechanisms in the identified room is greater than the particular value.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein the computing system is further configured to determine, for each respective available physical item of the available physical items, an aisle task sub-score of the multiple sub-scores that are used to determine the score for the respective available physical item by: identifying a room where a storage location of the respective available physical item is located; selecting an aisle in the room that is used to access the storage location of the available physical item, wherein the room includes a plurality of aisles corresponding to a plurality of levels in the room, wherein each of the plurality of aisles has one or more different storage locations; receiving information about inbound and outbound tasks for the selected aisle; determining, based on the information about the inbound and outbound tasks for the selected aisle, a quantity of tasks queued for the selected aisle; and assigning the aisle task sub-score to the respective available physical item based on the quantity of tasks queued for the selected aisle, wherein the computing system is configured to assign a more favorable aisle task sub-score to the respective available physical item when (i) the quantity of tasks queued for the selected aisle is less than a particular value than when, (ii) the quantity of tasks queued for the selected aisle is greater than the particular value.